Canadian French Translation and Validation of the Neck Dissection Impairment Index: A Quality of Life Measure for the Surgical Oncology Population.

BACKGROUND: Neck dissections (ND) are a routine procedure in head and neck oncology. Given the postoperative functional impact that some patients experience, it is imperative to identify and track quality of life (QoL) symptomatology to tailor each patient's therapeutic needs. To date, there is no validated French-Canadian questionnaire for this patient-population. We therefore sought to translate and validate the Neck Dissection Impairment Index (NDII) in Canadian French. METHODS: A 3-phased approach was used. Phase 1: The NDII was translated from English to Canadian French using a "forward and backward" translational technique following international guidelines. Phase 2: A cognitive debriefing session was held with 10 Canadian French-speaking otolaryngology patients to evaluate understandability and acceptability. Phase 3: The final version was administered prospectively to 30 patients with prior history of ND and 30 control patients. These patients were asked to complete the questionnaire 2 weeks after their first response. Test-retest reliability was calculated with Spearman's correlation. Internal consistency was elicited using Cronbach's alpha. RESULTS: NDII was successfully translated and validated to Canadian French. Cronbach's alpha revealed high internal consistency (0.92, lower 95% confidence limit 0.89). The correlation for test-retest validity were strong or very strong (0.61-0.91). CONCLUSION: NDII is an internationally recognized QoL tool for the identification of ND-related impairments. This validated Canadian French version will allow clinicians to adequately assess the surgery-related QoL effect of neck surgery in the French-speaking population, while allowing French institutions to conduct and/or participate in multisite clinical trials requiring the NDII as an outcome measure.

Disability and pain after anterior cervical decompression and fusion: A group-based trajectory analysis.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to identify the clusters of patients with different developmental trajectories of pain and disability after anterior cervical decompression and fusion (ACDF). METHODS: Group-based trajectory analysis among 318 patients undergoing the ACDF. RESULTS: Three developmental trajectories of disability were identified: "Steadily good functioning," "Improved functioning," and "Steadily poor functioning." Three developmental trajectories of neck pain were identified: "Worsened pain," "Pain relief," and "Steadily severe pain." Two developmental trajectories of arm pain were identified: "Decreased arm pain" and "Severe arm pain with only short-term relief." No associations were found between sex, preoperative pain duration, or body weight and probability to be classified into a particular disability trajectory group. Female sex (relative risk ratio (RRR) 1.78) and longer history of preoperative pain (RRR 2.31-2.68) increased the probability to be classified into a group with steadily severe neck pain. Longer history of preoperative pain increased the probability to be classified into group with severe arm pain with only short-term pain relief (RRR 2.68). CONCLUSION: After the ACDF, dissimilar developmental trajectories of pain and disability were identified between the patient clusters. While sex, preoperative pain duration, and body weight were not associated with differences in improvement in disability level, female sex and longer duration of preoperative pain were correlated with more severe neck and arm pain after surgery.

Translation, cultural adaptation, and validation of the Standardized Cosmesis and Health Nasal Outcomes Survey in Japanese (J-SCHNOS).

BACKGROUND: Rhinoplasty is one of the most popular plastic surgery techniques. The evaluation of both functional and cosmetic aspects of rhinoplasty is essential for planning and assessing surgery results. The Standardized Cosmesis and Health Nasal Outcomes Survey (SCHNOS) is a validated questionnaire used to assess both functional and aesthetic symptoms in patients with nasal problems, and it has been translated into several languages. The purpose of this study was to translate, culturally adapt, and validate the SCHNOS in Japanese among patients undergoing rhinoplasty. METHODS: This was a prospective validation study of the Japanese version of the SCHNOS (J-SCHNOS). The first phase involved translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the SCHNOS. The second phase included validation of the J-SCHNOS among native Japanese speakers. RESULTS: In total, 357 participants completed the final version of the J-SCHNOS (219 males and 138 females; mean age 43.4 years). The J-SCHNOS showed high internal consistency with excellent Cronbach's alpha values for both obstruction (SCHNOS-O) (0.96) and cosmetic (SCHNOS-C) (0.93) domains. The reproducibility was high, with an excellent intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) >0.9 for all items. Exploratory factor analysis showed unidimensional structures in both the SCHNOS-O and the SCHNOS-C. CONCLUSION: The J-SCHNOS is a reliable and valid tool to assess the severity of nasal problems in patients undergoing rhinoplasty.

Reliability and validity of Oswestry Disability Index among patients undergoing lumbar spinal surgery.

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to explore the internal consistency and factor structure of the Oswestry Disability Index among patients undergoing spinal surgery. The sample consisted of 1,515 patients who underwent lumbar spinal surgery at a university hospital between 2018 and 2021. METHODS: The patients responded to the Oswestry Disability Index within 2 months before surgery. Cronbach's alpha was used to assess the internal consistency. The factor structure was evaluated using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. RESULTS: The average age of 1,515 patients was 58.5 (SD 15.8) years and 53% were women. The mean ODI score was 43.4% (SD 17.4%). Of the patients, 68% underwent microsurgical excision of the lumbar intervertebral disc displacement or decompression of the lumbar nerve roots. The internal consistency of the Oswestry Disability Index was found to be good, with an alpha of 0.87 (95% CL 0.86 to 0.88). Exploratory factor analysis resulted in unidimensional structure. Item loadings on this retained factor were moderate to substantial for all 10 items. One-factor confirmatory factor analysis model demonstrated an acceptable fit. The correlations between the main factor "disability" and the individual items varied from moderate (0.44) to substantial (0.76). The highest correlations were observed for items "traveling", "personal care", and "social life". The lowest correlations were observed for the item "standing". CONCLUSIONS: The Oswestry Disability Index is a unidimensional and internally consistent scale that can be used to assess the severity of disability in patients undergoing lumbar spinal surgery. In the studied population, "traveling," "social life," "sex life" and "personal care" were the most important items to define the severity of disability, while "walking" and "standing" were the least important items. The generalizability of the results might be affected by the heterogeneity and modest size of the studied cohort. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Not applicable.

Concurrent changes in physical activity and physical functioning during retirement transition-a multi-trajectory analysis.

BACKGROUND: Physical activity and physical functioning have been reported to change over retirement transition, but the results have been inconsistent, and the two constructs have not been studied concurrently. The objective of this study was to examine concurrent changes in physical activity and physical functioning during transition to retirement among public sector employees, and to examine if occupation, sex, marital status, body mass index (BMI), alcohol consumption and smoking status are associated with observed different multi-trajectory paths. METHODS: 3,550 participants of the Finnish Retirement and Aging study responded to an annual survey on physical activity and physical functioning (SF-36) before and after retirement. Group-based multi-trajectory analysis was used to identify clusters with dissimilar concurrent changes in physical activity and physical functioning. Multinomial regression analysis was used to describe the associations between covariates and the probability of being classified to a certain cluster. RESULTS: Participants were 63.4 (SD 1.4) years old, 83% women, 65% professional workers. Four trajectories of concurrent changes in physical activity and physical functioning were identified, one with decreasing physical functioning and low activity, one with increasing high activity and stable high functioning and two with fluctuating moderate physical activity and stable high functioning. Single, women, obese participants and risk-users of alcohol were more likely to be classified into group with low physical activity and declining physical functioning. CONCLUSIONS: Low physical activity below the level usually recommended was associated with lower physical functioning during retirement transition. These findings could be useful when planning interventions for retirees to maintain their physical functioning level.

Physical activity and self-rated health during retirement transition: a multitrajectory analysis of concurrent changes among public sector employees.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to evaluate concurrent changes in physical activity and self-rated health during retirement transition over 4 years by multivariate trajectory analysis and to examine whether sociodemographic and lifestyle factors predict the probability of being classified to a certain subgroup of observed changes. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Public sector employees. PARTICIPANTS: 3550 participants of the Finnish Retirement and Aging study. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Participants estimated on a yearly questionnaire their weekly hours of different types of activities converted to metabolic equivalent of task-hour/week. Self-rated health was assessed on a 5-point Likert-like scale from poor to excellent and dichotomised as suboptimal and optimal. Multivariate trajectory analysis was used to distinguish different subgroups of trajectories. Multinomial regression analysis was used to describe the associations between covariates and the probability of being classified to a certain trajectory group. RESULTS: Three trajectory groups were identified, all displaying increasing activity during retirement with a simultaneous decrease in perceived suboptimal health. Physical activity peaked at 18 months after retirement and then slightly decreased, except for initially highly physically active participants (9%) with good self-rated health, who demonstrated a constant high level of physical activity. Male gender, professional occupation, being married or cohabiting, body mass index <30 kg/m2, not smoking and using alcohol below risk levels were associated with higher physical activity and better self-rated health. CONCLUSION: Changes in physical activity and perceived health during retirement transition were interconnected. Both were improved during retirement transition, but the change was temporary. Longer follow-up studies are required to assess the changes over a longer period after retirement.

Factors affecting association between pain severity and physical activity among people with low back pain.

The aim was to identify factors, which may affect the relationship between physical activity and pain severity among patients with low back pain (LBP). It was a cross-sectional survey-based study among 1332 consecutive patients with LBP. Linear regression models were employed. Patients were 47.6 years old and 64% were women. For the entire sample, pain severity and the intensity of physical activity were negatively associated. Higher physical activity was associated with younger age, higher educational level, normal weight and optimal perceived general health. Sex, smoking, marital status and occupation did not demonstrate significant interactions on the association. The severity of disability showed paradoxical effect on the relationship between pain and physical activity - severe disability was associated with increase in physical activity.

Back pain and radicular pain after lumbar microdiscectomy.

PURPOSE: It is generally expected that lumbar microdiscectomy affects radicular leg pain, but not so much local back pain. The primary objective was to evaluate if the trajectories of changes in pain severity follow similar patterns for back and radicular leg pain after lumbar microdiscectomy. The secondary objective was to investigate the associations between some preoperative parameters and the patterns of these trajectories. METHODS: Register-based retrospective study of 353 patients undergoing microdiscectomy in the lumbar spine. Linear mixed modelling was applied. RESULTS: The average age of the participants was 46 years and 44% were women. The developmental trajectories were similar for both back and leg pain. Pain level decrease during the first year after the surgery, slightly worsening later. No statistically significant interactions were detected of preoperative pain duration or severity, sex or age on the shapes of the trajectories. For every analyzed grouping factor, the 95% confidence intervals overlapped at every postoperative time point with one exception - worse preoperative back pain was statistically significantly associated with worse pain at three months and at the end of the two-year follow-up. CONCLUSION: After microsurgical discectomy, developmental curves for both back and radicular leg pain demonstrated similar patterns. Pain intensity decreased during the first year after the surgery. and slightly increased after that remaining, however, below the preoperative level. Age, sex, preoperative pain duration or preoperative intensity of leg pain were not associated with significant differences in the trajectories of pain severity after the surgery. In this study, severe preoperative back pain was the only factor, which was significantly associated with worse postoperative trajectory of pain intensity.

Sex-related differential item functioning of neck disability index.

PURPOSE: To investigate if the responses to the Neck Disability Index (NDI) may produce some differential item functioning (DIF) comparing men and women. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Register-based study among patients undergoing cervical surgery. Item response theory (IRT) analysis including a model for detecting a DIF. RESULTS: Of 338 patients, 171 (51%) were women and 167 (49%) were men. The mean age was 54.0 years. For most of the items, the average level of disability in a studied sample was associated with the middle point of the scale. The ability to distinguish people with different levels of disability was high or perfect for seven out of 10 items. While the DIF could be seen for all 10 items, only three items demonstrated statistically significant DIF - "pain intensity", "headaches" and "recreation". While the other seven items did not show statistically significant DIFs, better discrimination (steeper curves) for women could be graphically observed for "personal care", "lifting", "work", "driving" and "sleeping". CONCLUSIONS: It seemed that the NDI may behave differently depending on the sex of respondents. Several items of the NDI may be more precise and more sensitive when detecting restrictions in functioning among women compared to men. This finding should be taken into account when using the NDI in research and clinical practice.Implications for RehabilitationWhile the Neck Disability Index have been found to be a reliable and valid scale, potential differences in its properties across different sexes have mostly remained uninvestigated.This study showed that the Neck Disability Index may behave differently depending on the sex of respondents.Several items of the Neck Disability Index were more precise and sensitive when detecting restrictions in functioning among women compared to men.This difference should be taken into account when using the NDI in research and clinical practice.

Change in functioning profile after cervical surgery.

The objectives are to (a) introduce an approach to use the Neck Disability Index (NDI) in a way, which is different and more International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health-oriented than acommon practice - focusing on functional profile instead of composite score only, and (b) to describe the changes in functioning experienced by patients undergoing cervical surgery. This was a register-based study of almost 400 patients undergoing different cervical surgical procedures in a university hospital between 2018 and 2021. The patients responded to repeated surveys preoperatively and 3, 12 and 24 months postoperatively. Linear regression test was performed to analyze the change of the NDI score. The changes in scores during a follow-up were statistically significant ( P < 0.001) for all the NDI items as well as for the total score. Each item demonstrated significant improvement postoperatively and a slight worsening between 1 and 2 years after the surgery. The observed slight decline in functioning at the end of follow-up remained below the baseline level for all the items. While the change in the composite score of the NDI was able to describe the overall change in functioning after the surgery, different areas of functioning were affected by the surgery differently. The results suggest that the use of functional profiles, in addition to composite scores, is justified among patients with cervical pathologies.

Importance of factors determining disability caused by neck pain may vary by gender and age.

The objective was to investigate if age and gender affect the importance of domains of functioning when grading disability related to neck pain. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis of register-based data on 392 patients undergoing cervical surgery was applied. The main outcome was item loadings on a common factor. The mean age was 55 years and 52% were women. The factor structure was different for both gender and age groups, P < 0.0001. Reading, driving, pain intensity, and recreational activity had the highest loadings while headaches, lifting, and sleep placed the lowest. Reading and pain intensity had bigger weight among men than women, while recreational activity and driving had higher loadings in women. Reading and work were more important for the younger than for the older respondents, while recreational activity was more important for the older respondents. The importance of factors determining disability caused by neck pain may vary by gender and age.

Validation of the European Portuguese Language Version of the Standardized Cosmesis and Health Nasal Outcomes Survey.

The Standardized Cosmesis and Health Nasal Outcomes Survey (SCHNOS) questionnaire is a tool developed to evaluate functional and aesthetic components of rhinoplasty. It is a reliable patient-reported outcome measure, not available in the European Portuguese language. Our goal was to translate and culturally adapt the SCHNOS questionnaire to the European Portuguese language. The questionnaire was forward and backward translated and culturally adapted to the European Portuguese language following international guidelines. The authors evaluated internal consistency, correlation, and reproducibility to determine the validity of the questionnaire. The final European Portuguese version of the SCHNOS was administered to 58 native European Portuguese speakers. Both the SCHNOS-O (obstructive) and SCHNOS-C (cosmetic) showed high internal consistency with Cronbach's α of 0.93 and 0.95, respectively. Also, for the entire SCHNOS, Cronbach's α was 0.96. All the items demonstrated good item-test and item-rest correlations with the differences between pre- and postestimates being nonsignificant. The translation, adaption, and validation of the SCHNOS into European Portuguese were successfully performed. This provides another tool to help evaluate the functional and aesthetic outcomes of rhinoplasty patients.

Difference in Perception of Nasal Aesthetic Appearance Between Surgeons and Rhinoplasty Patients: A Single-Center Perspective.

BACKGROUND: Patient satisfaction is an essential outcome measure after a rhinoplasty. Yet it is not known whether the opinions of rhinoplasty patients and surgeons on nasal aesthetic appearance differ. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine the differences between patients and surgeons in their perception of nasal aesthetic appearance. METHODS: A retrospective cohort of 300 patients seen in consultation for cosmetic, functional, or combined cosmetic and functional rhinoplasty at a single tertiary care center from June 2017 to June 2020 was studied. Based on preoperative patient images, 6 surgeons with varying levels of expertise assessed nasal aesthetics utilizing a modified Standardized Cosmesis and Health Nasal Outcomes Survey for nasal cosmesis (SCHNOS-C). These scores were then compared to the patient-reported SCHNOS-C scores. RESULTS: The cosmetic, functional, and combined subgroups consisted of 100 patients each. The mean [standard deviation] age was 35.4 [13.7] years and 64% were women. The modified SCHNOS-C scores were well-correlated among the 6 surgeons but showed only weak correlations of 0.07 to 0.20 between patient-reported scores and scores assessed by the surgeons. Compared with the surgeon's scores, patients in the cosmetic subgroup perceived their nasal aesthetic problems to be more severe whereas the those in the functional subgroup perceived their nasal aesthetic problems to be milder compared with the surgeons' assessment. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that patients and surgeons perceive nasal cosmesis differently. This difference should be considered carefully when planning rhinoplasty or assessing its outcome.

Reliability and validity of the Neck Disability Index among patients undergoing cervical surgery.

To explore the internal consistency and factor structure of the Neck Disability Index (NDI) among patients undergoing surgery on the cervical spine. This was an observational retrospective cohort study among 392 patients undergoing cervical surgery of any kind in a university hospital between 2018 and 2021. The patients responded to repeated surveys preoperatively, and 3, 12 and 24 months postoperatively. The reliability and validity of the NDI were investigated using Cronbach's alpha and factor analysis. The internal consistency of the NDI was found to be good at 0.86. The exploratory factor analysis demonstrated unidimensionality. The correlations between the main factor 'disability' and all the individual items of the NDI were at least moderate. The highest correlations were observed for pain intensity, reading, driving and recreation. The NDI is an internally consistent and unidimensional scale when applied to a population of patients undergoing cervical surgery. 45: 273-278 Copyright © 2022 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Safety and Efficacy of Spreader Grafts and Autospreaders in Rhinoplasty: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to systematically evaluate the evidence of surgical outcomes and complications of spreader grafts and autospreader flaps in the context of middle vault reconstruction after dorsal hump removal. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A systematic review was conducted in accordance with the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were based on the population, intervention, comparison, and outcome (PICO) framework. Medline (via PubMed), EMBASE, Cinahl, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched for Clinical and observational studies published in peer-reviewed academic journals with abstracts available that reported rhinoplasty employing either spreader graft or autospreader flap techniques and were published prior to March, 2021. RESULTS: Fifty-two of 1129 relevant studies were included in the qualitative analysis. Thirty-four studies (65.4%) were related to spreader graft (SG), 10 (21.1%) studies of autospreader flap (AF) alone and 8 (13.5%) studies involving both grafts. Meta-analysis was performed on 17 studies reporting change in NOSE scores, with pooled effect of - 23.9 (95% CI, - 26.7 to - 21.1) points. High heterogeneity with I2 = 99%. Summary data showed no differences between groups, AF group versus no graft (p = 0.7578), AF versus SF group (p = 0.9948), and SG group versus no graft (p = 0.6608). CONCLUSION: Based on available data, change in NOSE scores after rhinoplasty was similar in procedures that used spreader graft only or autospreader flap only. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE III: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266.

Translation, Cultural Adaptation and Validation of the Standardized Cosmesis and Health Nasal Outcomes Survey (SCHNOS) in Italian.

BACKGROUNDS: Rhinoplasty necessarily concerns functional and cosmetic aspects, and outcomes of both should be assessed in each patient. There has been a lack in the literature in Italian for a comprehensive tool for assessing both aspects of rhinoplasty. The objective is to translate and validate the Standardized Cosmesis and Health Nasal Outcomes Survey (SCHNOS) into Italian. METHODS: Forward and back-translation was used. Content validity was evaluated by experts and by patient interviews. Internal consistency was assessed by a Cronbach's alpha. The structure validity was assessed by an exploratory factor analysis. RESULTS: Cognitive interviews of 10 rhinoplasty patients resulted in a good overall comprehension of the SCHNOS. Of the 411 respondents, 281 (32%) were women, and the average age was 33.6 (11.3) years. The alpha was excellent for both the obstruction domain (SCHNOS-O) (0.90) and the cosmetic domain (SCHNOS-C) (0.94). All the correlations between repeated measures were moderate to very strong. The exploratory factor analysis demonstrated unidimensionality of both the SCHNOS-O and the SCHNOS-C scores. CONCLUSIONS: The SCHNOS was successfully translated and validated in Italian and can be recommended for a clinical use among rhinoplasty patients. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE III: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

Persistence of sleep difficulties for over 16 years amongst 66,948 working-aged adults.

The objective was to investigate the persistence of sleep difficulties for over 16 years amongst a population of working age. In this prospective cohort study, a group-based trajectory analysis of repeated surveys amongst 66,948 employees in public sector (mean age 44.7 [SD 9.4] years, 80% women) was employed. The main outcome measure was sleep difficulties based on Jenkins Sleep Scale (JSS). Up to 70% of the respondents did not experience sleep difficulties whereas up to 4% reported high frequency of notable sleep difficulties through the entire 16-year follow-up. Heavy drinking predicted sleep difficulties (OR 2.3 95% CI 1.6 to 3.3) except for the respondents younger than 40 years. Smoking was associated with sleep difficulties amongst women younger than 40 years (OR 1.2, 95% CI 1.0 to 1.5). Obesity was associated with sleep difficulties amongst men (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.4 to 2.7) and women (OR 1.2, 95% CI 1.1 to 1.3) of middle age and amongst women older than 50 (OR 1.5, 95% CI 1.2 to 1.8) years. Physical inactivity predicted sleep difficulties amongst older men (OR 1.3, 95% CI 1.1 to 1.6). In this working-age population, sleep difficulties showed a great persistence over time. In most of the groups, the level of sleep difficulties during the follow-up was almost solely dependent on the level of initial severity. Depending on sex and age, increasing sleep problems were sometimes associated with high alcohol consumption, smoking, obesity and physical inactivity, but the strength of these associations varied.

Association of changes in lifestyle with changes in sleep difficulties: an analysis of 38 400 participants over a 16-year follow-up.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the association between changes in lifestyle risk factors and changes is sleep difficulties. DESIGN: Longitudinal repeated measures cohort study. SETTING: University and national institute of occupational health. PARTICIPANTS: Participants of the Finnish Public Sector study with information on sleep and lifestyle-related risk factors collected in five repeat surveys with 4-year intervals from 2000 to 2017. The participants were those, who had responded at least twice and had a change in sleep difficulties (having sleep difficulties vs not) (142 969 observations from 38 400 respondents (mean age 45.5 (SD 9.2) years, 83% women). PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Changes in sleep quality over time. Longitudinal fixed effects analysis, a method that accounts for time-invariant confounders by design, was used. RESULTS: At first available response, sleep difficulties were experienced by 13 998 (36%) of the respondents. Respectively, the mean age was 44.3 (10.0) years, 7526 (20%) were obese, 13 487 (35%) reported low physical activity, 3338 (9%) extensively drinking and 6547 (17%) were smoking. Except for smoking, the changes in the studied modifiable risks were associated with changes in sleep difficulties. The ORs for having sleep difficulties were 1.41 (95% CI 1.35 to 1.48) for obesity, 1.10 (95% CI 1.06 to 1.13) for low physical activity and 1.43 (95% CI 1.35 to 1.51) for heavy drinking. For smoking, the association was negative with OR 0.81 (95% CI 0.76 to 0.86). Including all four modifiable risks into model changed the estimates only little. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this longitudinal study suggest that changes in sleep quality are interconnected with changes in lifestyle.